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Chemical Process Safety PDF
Chemical Process Safety PDF
Bangladesh
Electricity consumption (2003) 16,196 GWh
Fukushima I (Daiichi) Nuclear Power Plant
Annual generation 29,891 GWh
Nuclear Reactor
What Happened?
The earthquake caused all operating reactors to
automatically shut down (control rods are inserted, which
stop the nuclear fission reaction by absorbing neutrons)
Emergency diesel generators, which started to run the
cooling system after the electrical power grid failed, shut
down about an hour after the earthquake
When cooling fails in a fully operational reactor or shortly
after shutdown, the water quickly boils off creating
increasing steam pressure in the core containment vessel
and exposing the dry fuel assembly to increasing
temperatures and radiation. The zirconium metal assembly
reacts with the steam to give hydrogen and oxygen, an
explosive mix
Responses to the Threat
First, the plants operators attempted to pump cold sea
water directly into the reactors to replace the boiled-off
coolant water. (Sea water is very corrosive and will
undoubtedly damage the metal parts of the reactor, and its
complex mixture of contents will also complicate the cleanup.
This means to never running it again without a complete
replacement of its hardware. As an added precaution, the
seawater was spiked with a boron compound in order increase
the absorption of neutrons within the reactor).
Next, the bleeding off of some pressure from the reactor
vessel in order to lower the risk of a catastrophic failure.
(This was also an unappealing option, given that the steam
would necessarily contain some radioactivity. Still, it was
considered a better option than allowing the container to burst)
Design Errors
The electrical rooms at these plants are at the
basements
Although the plant was ready for an extreme
event, it clearly wasnt designed with a tsunami
in mindit is simply impossible to plan for
every eventuality. However, this seems to be a
major omission given the plants location. It
also appears that the fuel storage areas werent
nearly as robustly designed as the reactors
Design Errors (contd)
Chemical Reactivity
Bottle of isopropyl ether; A chemist
twisted the cap of a bottle of isopropyl
ether to open it. As the cap broke loose,
the bottle exploded. The man died due to
massive internal hemorrhage.
Caused by rapid decomposition of
peroxides, which formed in the ether
while the bottle sat in storage.
Case History 3: ( Washington DC,
Manufacturing Chemists association)
System Design
Ethylene oxide explosion: A process storage
tank contained 6500 gal of ethylene oxide. It
was accidentally contaminated with ammonia.
The tank ruptured and dispersed ethylene oxide
into the air. A vapor cloud was formed and
immediately exploded. One person was killed
and nine were injured; property losses $16.5
million
Lack of design protection to prevent back up of
ammonia into the storage tank.
Case History 4: ( Washington DC,
Manufacturing Chemists association)
System Procedure
Man working in a Vessel: two
maintenance workers were replacing part
of a ribbon in a large ribbon mixer. The
main switch was left energized, the
mixer was stopped with one of three
start-stop buttons. The operator by
mistake pushed one of the start stop
button , the mixer started and the
mechanic inside was killed.
Example of Disaster: Bhopal, India
(December 3, 1984)
Plant Location: Madhya Pradesh, central
India; nearest inhabitants were 1.5 miles
away, but a shanty town grew nearby.
Produced Pesticides; owned by Union
Carbide and partially owned locally
Intermediate compound methyl iso-cyanate
(MIC): reactive, toxic, volatile, flammable
and vapor heavier than air.
MIC unit was not operating because of
labor dispute
Example of Disaster contd
Accident:
Storage tank containing large amount of MIC
became contaminated by water, heated by
reaction; vapor traveled through pressure relief
system into a scrubber and flare system that
was not operating
25 tons toxic MIC vapor released, spread to the
adjacent town killing over 2000 civilians and
injuring 20,000 more. No plant workers were
killed.
Recommendation:
Alternative reaction scheme or redesigning of
the process with reduced inventory of MIC (less
than 20 pounds)
CO2 Stripper Failure of UFFL-
1991 (Ghorashal)
CO2 stripper contains carbamate
solution,CO2 and ammonia and runs
under high pressure
Stripper column exploded and split
into two halves in middle section
during trial run
11 deaths including the project
director
CO2 Stripper Failure of UFFL-
1991 (Ghorashal)
Accident due to fabrication defect-crack
in welding joint. Safety valve did not
blow and the pressure was within
permissible limit
Field test was not done, vendors carried
out the test
Power generation system tripped, no
emergency light, rescue team arrived
after more than an hour, colleagues in
nearby residence did not come out
Hazard Identification
What are the hazards?
What can go wrong?
What are the chances?
What are the consequences?
Hazard Identification and Risk
Assessment Procedure
System description
Hazard identification
Scenario identification
Risk determination
Modify
no 1. process or plant
Risk and/or hazard 2. process operation
acceptance 3 emergency response
4 other
yes